Ribbon in the Sky: Soul, Funk, and the Enduring Power of Black Art

Overview

Saturday, June 29 • 2 PM • Lecture Hall • Free Admission

Drawing from the musicians who have inspired William Villalongo’s work, from Nina Simone to Steve Wonder to George Clinton, this lecture will be about how the greatest African-American musicians of the 1960s and 1970s both chronicled the social activism of the time and inspired activists and artists alike to the present day.

Alexander Shashko is a Lecturer in the Department of African American History at the University of Wisconsin-Madison, where he teaches classes on the history of Black popular music from the blues to hip-hop, and the history of the Civil Rights Movement. He is a Wisconsin native and a voter for the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame. 

This talk is part of the Badger Talk series, which reflects our tradition of the Wisconsin Idea — to extend the resources of the university to citizens of the state. Over 200 Badger Talks are hosted around the state each year, featuring faculty and staff with expertise in a variety of disciplines. Talk topics range from cutting-edge discoveries to happiness in the workplace and everything in between.